#365DaysOfWriting — Day 120
Placebo — a documentary by Abhay Kumar
Thank God for Netflix.
Last year, I missed Placebo at the Jio MAMI festival. All my friends who’d seen it have been raving about it ever since. However, it slipped from my consciousness — until a couple of days back, when someone said they’re streaming Placebo on Netflix.
I watched it today morning.
It’s possibly one of the most gut-wrenching documentaries I’ve seen. It paints a grim picture of the Indian education system’s failings, the apathy of the administrators and a total lack of support for students. Now you might wonder that this is about some far-flung school in a remote village.
The institution in question here is AIIMS, Delhi.
It is consistently ranked as one of the top educational institutes in India. And yet, at least 1–2 students commit suicide there, year after year.
Placebo starts off in mind-shattering fashion.
It all started off with Abhay’s brother, Sahil, ramming his hand into a glass window out of frustration. In the process, his arm became paralysed and he had to undergo multiple surgeries to try and rectify the damage (he eventually wrote his exams with his left hand).
Abhay Kumar then takes his handycam around the campus, asking students to open up about their experiences on the campus, and how it feels to be a part of one of India’s most prestigious institutions.
As the documentary wears on, we see a cloud of despair and gloom cover the campus, which becomes more and more desolate. No one knows anyone here — no one cares, either. Suicides are not taken seriously, and the administration is only worried about the institution’s image and their own necks.
When it ends, you feel nothing. Actually, you feel nothingness wearing the pit of your stomach down. If this is the state of India’s topmost educational institution, what hope do the rest of us have?
